Mannerisms

But in neither of those imbroglios could the government be said to be directly ripping off consumers at the behest of private enterprise. Now it is.

The EU’s Commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding, has accused New Labour minister Margaret Hodge of being a mouthpiece for the wireless operators.

“The Minister (Hodge) is playing, 100 per cent, the spokesman for the mobile phone industry,” says Reding.

In December 2006 Hodge vetoed a measure proposed by Reding aimed at putting a limit to roaming charges. At that time it cost 94p per minute to make an international call, estimated to be 400 per cent more than the cost to the operators.

“The prices were extraordinarily high 10 times, 15 times, 20 times higher than local national prices”, said Reding, “but there was no difference in the cost of connecting the calls. I saw also the cost for the operators was roughly 10 cents for a call and what they were charging was 400 per cent more than the cost.”

Brussels proposed 27p per minute for making an international call and 10p for receiving one. After lobbying from the wireless companies this was upped to 38p and 17p.

“The British government was very clearly doing a policy in favour of the telephone industry”, said Reding.

The wireless industry is a dreadful example of how governments rip off their citizens.

First governments sell spectrum, which belongs to the public, to private companies.

Then private companies sell the use of the spectrum they’ve bought back to the public in very small amounts, at very high prices.

Then a public servant like Viviane Reding objects to the private companies making 400 per cent profit margins.

And New Labour ministers have the gall to veto any change.

Surely Gordon’s Scottish Presbyterian rectitude finds something distasteful in all of that.

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